City Football Group exits Mumbai City amid Indian league uncertainty

MUMBAI – The City Football Group (CFG) has divested its stake in Mumbai City amid uncertainty over the future of the Indian Super League (ISL), the team announced on Dec 26.

CFG, which owns several top clubs including English Premier League giants Manchester City, acquired a 65 per cent stake in Mumbai in 2019, with the club winning two league titles.

However, the ISL is in limbo with the national governing body, the All India Football Federation (AIFF), struggling to find a new commercial partner after its 15-year deal expired.

“Mumbai City FC can confirm that City Football Group Limited has divested its shareholding in the club. The founding owners will assume full control of the organisation moving forward,” Mumbai said in a statement on their official website.

“CFG has made this decision following a comprehensive commercial review and in light of the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the future of the Indian Super League. This step reflects CFG’s disciplined and strategic approach – ensuring its focus remains on areas where it can have the greatest long-term impact.”

Other clubs in CFG’s portfolio besides Mumbai and City are teams in Spain (Girona), Belgium (Lommel), the US (New York City), Australia (Melbourne City), Japan (Yokohama), China (Shenzhen), Uruguay (Montevideo) and Brazil (Bahia), among others.

Mumbai’s parent company, Mumbai City Football India, is co-owned by Bollywood star Ranbir Kapoor and chartered accountant Bimal Parekh, according to the Indian Express.

The ISL was put on hold in July with stalled negotiations for a renewal of the AIFF’s contract with its commercial partners, Reliance-led Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), cited as the reason.

Talks to renew the 2010 agreement came to a halt after India’s Supreme Court asked the AIFF not to renew the deal with FSDL until it had issued an order over a separate case to implement a new constitution for the federation. REUTERS